http://www.singapolitics.sg/views/bo...ition-boo-boys
Standing for election is clearly not an easy thing to do.
It requires money, time, tremendous effort and most of all, a deep passion for a cause – be it to serve people or to advance democracy in Singapore.
Election candidates – whether they are standing for the opposition parties or the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) – also need to face down their detractors and their own demons.
Those who step forward need to be cheered for having the courage to push their convictions – even if they might not espouse your own views.
The last thing they need is to be jeered at – which was what happened at the Nomination Centre on Wednesday morning when the four candidates filed their papers to contest the Punggol East by-election on Jan 26.
Supporters, mainly those standing in the Workers’ Party (WP) camp, were booing all the other candidates, even those from the opposition parties when they tried to speak to the crowd.
Loud, audible jeers quickly arose from the WP supporters when the Singapore Democratic Alliance chief Desmond Lim Bak Chuan addressed his supporters.
Some even shouted “Pig!” at Mr Lim, 45. Others taunted him for contesting the ward again despite being humiliated there at the 2011 General Election when he got a measly 4.5 per cent of votes and lost his $16,000 electoral deposit in a three-cornered fight.
A frosty reception awaited Reform Party chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam, 53, when he appeared on the rostrum at North Vista Secondary School.
As he spoke of offering Punggol East voters a choice, shouts of “no choice” emanated from, again, those in the WP crowd, which numbered at least 300.
The hostile treatment persisted despite attempts by WP chief Low Thia Khiang and fellow leaders to hush the booing.
To be fair, these hecklers were only a small part of the opposition supporters, most of whom who focused on cheering for their preferred party and candidate.
But the WP should be concerned as the ill-mannered supporters are not just growing in numbers but also in the intensity and nature of their taunts.
At the 2011 polls, reporters like me saw first-hand how pockets of WP supporters were jeering at PAP candidates and activists at nomination centres.
But as shown by events on Wednesday, their targets now include even opposition candidates.
Booing of candidates cannot be condoned, regardless of the depth of emotion they may be feeling at the time. It is even more uncalled for when the taunts are directed against opposition candidates.
First, as supporters of the opposition WP, these hecklers should know well the difficulties faced by and sacrifices made by candidates like Mr Lim and Mr Jeyaretnam.
After all, opposition candidates have less resources and higher chances of defeat to deal with than those standing for the PAP.
Second, the heckling stems somewhat from hubris that Mr Lim and Mr Jeyaretnam are small fries compared to WP candidate Lee Li Lian, 34, whose party is on the ascendancy. Some may have viewed the duo as spoilers whose entry into the fray lowers the WP’s chances of winning.
But these black sheep forget that a win for the WP is not guaranteed even in a straight fight, and that there was a time when the WP was much weaker than its current state.
In the early 1990s, the WP played second fiddle to the Singapore Democratic Party which was then the dominant opposition party with three elected MPs.
The WP stayed in non-growth limbo up till the 2001 General Election when it could field only two candidates. Things turned around for the WP only after Mr Low took over its helms that year.
By booing Mr Lim and Mr Jeyaretnam, these WP supporters are forgetting the respect and space that others had accorded them.
Admittedly, it is hard for WP to enforce discipline on hundreds of supporters, some of whom may be there for the first time.
But there is a real danger for the WP if this behaviour starts to become associated with the party.
No one is asking anyone to cheer an opposing candidate, but if Singaporeans claim to want to bring politics to a higher level, then there is no place for booing.
And the onus lies on the WP to be more stern to boot out the booers in their midst.
Standing for election is clearly not an easy thing to do.
It requires money, time, tremendous effort and most of all, a deep passion for a cause – be it to serve people or to advance democracy in Singapore.
Election candidates – whether they are standing for the opposition parties or the ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) – also need to face down their detractors and their own demons.
Those who step forward need to be cheered for having the courage to push their convictions – even if they might not espouse your own views.
The last thing they need is to be jeered at – which was what happened at the Nomination Centre on Wednesday morning when the four candidates filed their papers to contest the Punggol East by-election on Jan 26.
Supporters, mainly those standing in the Workers’ Party (WP) camp, were booing all the other candidates, even those from the opposition parties when they tried to speak to the crowd.
Loud, audible jeers quickly arose from the WP supporters when the Singapore Democratic Alliance chief Desmond Lim Bak Chuan addressed his supporters.
Some even shouted “Pig!” at Mr Lim, 45. Others taunted him for contesting the ward again despite being humiliated there at the 2011 General Election when he got a measly 4.5 per cent of votes and lost his $16,000 electoral deposit in a three-cornered fight.
A frosty reception awaited Reform Party chief Kenneth Jeyaretnam, 53, when he appeared on the rostrum at North Vista Secondary School.
As he spoke of offering Punggol East voters a choice, shouts of “no choice” emanated from, again, those in the WP crowd, which numbered at least 300.
The hostile treatment persisted despite attempts by WP chief Low Thia Khiang and fellow leaders to hush the booing.
To be fair, these hecklers were only a small part of the opposition supporters, most of whom who focused on cheering for their preferred party and candidate.
But the WP should be concerned as the ill-mannered supporters are not just growing in numbers but also in the intensity and nature of their taunts.
At the 2011 polls, reporters like me saw first-hand how pockets of WP supporters were jeering at PAP candidates and activists at nomination centres.
But as shown by events on Wednesday, their targets now include even opposition candidates.
Booing of candidates cannot be condoned, regardless of the depth of emotion they may be feeling at the time. It is even more uncalled for when the taunts are directed against opposition candidates.
First, as supporters of the opposition WP, these hecklers should know well the difficulties faced by and sacrifices made by candidates like Mr Lim and Mr Jeyaretnam.
After all, opposition candidates have less resources and higher chances of defeat to deal with than those standing for the PAP.
Second, the heckling stems somewhat from hubris that Mr Lim and Mr Jeyaretnam are small fries compared to WP candidate Lee Li Lian, 34, whose party is on the ascendancy. Some may have viewed the duo as spoilers whose entry into the fray lowers the WP’s chances of winning.
But these black sheep forget that a win for the WP is not guaranteed even in a straight fight, and that there was a time when the WP was much weaker than its current state.
In the early 1990s, the WP played second fiddle to the Singapore Democratic Party which was then the dominant opposition party with three elected MPs.
The WP stayed in non-growth limbo up till the 2001 General Election when it could field only two candidates. Things turned around for the WP only after Mr Low took over its helms that year.
By booing Mr Lim and Mr Jeyaretnam, these WP supporters are forgetting the respect and space that others had accorded them.
Admittedly, it is hard for WP to enforce discipline on hundreds of supporters, some of whom may be there for the first time.
But there is a real danger for the WP if this behaviour starts to become associated with the party.
No one is asking anyone to cheer an opposing candidate, but if Singaporeans claim to want to bring politics to a higher level, then there is no place for booing.
And the onus lies on the WP to be more stern to boot out the booers in their midst.
